building another target

Bronze SupporterBronze Supporter

Well i have a buddy coming into town from colorado on tuesday and taking him out to burn some of my ammo up either Wednesday or thursday. So i decided i should build a new target for our shooting pleasure.

Nothing to great but its a start. Ill build some folding legs this weekend sometime.

Im not digging the carabiners so i may bolt the chain to the back side of the target so the bolt head takes hits rather than the wimpy carabiners get shot up

Never Surrender The FightBronze Supporter

I use plastic pipe to hold the steel targets 1 1/2" , no glue just replace the parts I damage.
2" is more solid but too expensiveness but 1 1/2 seems strong enough to hold weight.
Nice thing is the bracket can be taken apart and fit in a dufflebag in seconds. I use my NRA
bag I got awhile back. The cool factor if you use ABS a few pennies more looks better then white PVC and take a tad more beating.

Well-Known Member

I use plastic pipe to hold the steel targets 1 1/2" , no glue just replace the parts I damage.
2" is more solid but too expensiveness but 1 1/2 seems strong enough to hold weight.
Nice thing is the bracket can be taken apart and fit in a dufflebag in seconds. I use my NRA
bag I got awhile back. The cool factor if you use ABS a few pennies more looks better then white PVC and take a tad more beating.

Well-Known Member

A couple of range trips and you've got an environmental hazard in those 2X4s. I hate loading them back in my SUV. I gotta spend some money and time and get some rebar or something.

Click to expand...

I had the same problem with shavings and shell fragments. All I did was drill a couple of big holes thru mine a couple inches apart, thread a 2' length of rope thru them, and then tied the ends of the rope together to make a carry strap of sorts. Its a cheap and easy way to keep from getting my fingers cut.

Never Surrender The FightBronze Supporter

There is occasional damage but it tends to skip off more then dig in like wood does. the ABS is softer and less brittle. The idea of using PVC/ABS is its a snap to repair a target were as wood you spend more time I make mine into two to three parts the legs and two parts the support bar that way I can easily and for pennies replace the small part plus its lighter then wood, wood and steel make for a heavy lugging around target. Making smaller pieces also makes it more sturdy being I use no glue and the heavier fitting stabilize it even more.
I should note I do it this way because I set up in BLM and need a easy breakdown and setup.
The down fall is if you miss the target and hit the plastic say with a 762x39 well its going to dismantle the piece it hit. Good news its easy to pull apart and replace a small piece .

I have thought of trying to use electrical pipe conduit its light too, and using the fittings that slip over you can buy and piece the same was as the PVC/ABS because it would hold up better and yet is soft enough to prevent bouncing off unsafely. These are just my own ideas I come up with part of the fun is trying to make something useful.

Well-Known Member

Hey drewp, I just use "S" hooks to hang my steel targets on chains. Works fine for me, never had one fall off. The weak link so to speak, is always the stand. I have some rebar ones that work okay, but one misplaced shot and the soft rebar steel takes a beating. Wood seems to have a limited number of range trips before it get blown apart and full of lead splash. PVC or ABS works okay too, just remember to bring spare pieces for repairs. The holy grail of target stands (cheap, lightweight, portable, durable) seem to made of unobtanium.

For those that do not weild, I bought a set of "make your own saw horse" brackets for $20.

Added 4x 8' 2x4's as legs and 1x to go across the top.

Couple screws assembles or disassebles it in 30 sec.

The brackets have never been hit and it will hold multiple hanging (or spiked) targets. If someone hits a leg, they owe me $2 to replace it. Normaly, it will take quite a few .308 rounds before giving out (unless they are all in the same place and it depends on weight load they are bearing).

Well-Known Member

The garden shepherd hooks work O.K. for smaller targets but work themselves out of the soft ground after 15 or 20 shots and fall over. I have two set-ups similar to these but I've added a couple more prongs to the
bottom for stability.
They go for about $6 at walmart.

Never Surrender The FightBronze Supporter

The garden shepherd hooks work O.K. for smaller targets but work themselves out of the soft ground after 15 or 20 shots and fall over. I have two set-ups similar to these but I've added a couple more prongs to the
bottom for stability.
They go for about $6 at walmart.
Haven't accidently shot one yet!View attachment 256741

Click to expand...

I bought one target set at Cabelas to try out and get ideas.
First shot from the AK, went high split the top bar on the target in half killed the target set
and made it useless. Your post reminded me of that as the metal was about as thick and snapped it like it was a twig. I never saw that coming, cost me 30.00 Grrrr Kinda why I got into building my own that could be repaired easily.

WELCOME!

Northwest Firearms provides a place for gun owners of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho a place to converse,
organize, learn, educate, trade, and most importantly, work together to preserve our Second Amendment rights.

Participation is completely free and registration takes only a few moments.

About Northwest Firearms

We believe the 2nd Amendment is best defended through grass-roots organization, education, and advocacy centered around individual gun owners. It is our mission to encourage, organize, and support these efforts throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.